Converge ICT Services Inc. expects to maintain its growth trajectory throughout the year, as the demand for broadband services continues to “explode.”
Matthias Vukovich, the company’s CFO, said his group will likely tread on a “similar path” as its first quarter financial results throughout 2021.
Converge saw its profit tripling to P1.55 billion from P574 million thanks to growing demand for Internet connectivity to the home during the first quarter.
The rise in net income was complemented by the newly-passed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Law, which reduced the company’s taxes to 21 percent during the quarter under review.
“I think we will continue on a similar path going forward,” he replied, when asked if Converge expects to post similar results in the remaining quarters of the year.
The company’s top line rose by 83.6 percent to P5.55 billion from P3.02 billion, driven by its residential and enterprise businesses.
Its residential subscribers grew to a few thousand short of 1.2 million during the first three months of the year, capturing 48 percent of the market share in terms of net adds among the three largest broadband operators in the Philippines.
This means that its market share grew to 27 percent at-end March from 19 percent the year prior.
With the sustained demand for connectivity, Vukovich said Converge expects to end the year with about 1.6 million to 1.7 million subscribers by year end.
Meanwhile, Converge President Dennis Anthony H. Uy said his group continues to pursue a partnership deal with SpaceX of Elon Musk for the deployment of satellite Internet in areas where fiber is not present.
“We have yet to close the agreement because I think their priority is some American areas such as Canada. In Southeast Asia, I think maybe, in a year or in a year and a half,” he said.
For now, Converge is “doing some technical studies” to locate-possible sites for the deployment of “6 to 7 stations” to deliver satellite broadband.
“The platform and technology are coming soon,” Uy said.
Converge, he added, is on track to launch its services in key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao this year.
“We are not just expanding our national fiber backbone, but we are also diversifying our international connection,” Uy said.
As of end-April, Converge has a fiber optic cable network of 370,000 kilometers.
Converge is gearing up to slice a chunk of the highly-unsaturated home broadband market by 2025. It is currently building a national backbone that will allow it to reach approximately 55 percent of the total households in the Philippines.